From tomorrow, Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium will lead a Belgian economic mission to the US West Coast. The programme will take place in San Francisco from 5 to 8 October, before continuing in Los Angeles on 9 and 10 October.
The mission brings together nearly 500 participants from 221 companies, 17 federations and chambers of commerce, 15 academic institutions and Belgian public administrations.
The Minister for SMEs, Self-Employed Workers and the Middle Classes, Eléonore SIMONET, is accompanying a significant delegation of SMEs, including start-ups, in their quest to conquer Silicon Valley.
For the Minister: “The transatlantic relationship between the United States and Europe has experienced considerable turbulence in recent months. Yet despite these challenges, the fundamental ties between the United States and Europe remain strong. Our economies are deeply interconnected, with substantial trade and investment flows crossing the Atlantic.”
Business is business
The trade and investment relationship between Belgium and the United States is very strong.
Last year, bilateral trade in goods amounted to €64.4 billion, with US exports to Belgium reaching €31.4 billion and imports from Belgium totalling €32.9 billion. Belgium ranked 15th among destinations for US goods exports.
Conversely, the United States was the 4th largest market for Belgian exports and the fourth largest supplier of imports, making it Belgium's largest trading partner outside the European Union.
The United States is the leading foreign investor in Belgium outside the EU, with more than 900 American companies employing nearly 115,000 people in Belgium.
At the same time, Belgian investment and trade activities in the United States support more than 230,000 American jobs, underscoring the mutual economic benefits of this transatlantic partnership.
Focusing on the state of California, where the mission is taking place: California is Belgium's 7th largest export destination, with $1.342 billion worth of goods exported, and the Golden State is our 4th largest supplier, with a value of $2.146 billion.
Programme
During this mission, nearly 80 activities will be organised in fields such as aerospace and defence, energy, high technology and artificial intelligence, life sciences, logistics and smart infrastructure, as well as media, design and architecture.
B2B meetings, seminars, and visits to local companies and Belgian subsidiaries established in the United States will round out the programme.
Around 63 companies, including many SMEs, will use the Belgian economic mission to formalise trade agreements. The mission will also be an opportunity for announcements of significant American investments on Belgian soil. Stay tuned!
For the Minister, who will accompany the Princess to all official visits: “our SMEs will be able to seize this opportunity to engage with an innovation ecosystem that is unique in the world, and with a forward-thinking entrepreneurial culture. It is important to me to play this facilitating role, but also to draw on best practices from California for the effective deployment of innovative start-ups in Belgium.”
Visits to Google, Amazon, Microsoft, NASA, Stanford University and others are on the agenda. A great opportunity for our SMEs to forge connections and open up new growth prospects. This mission will give a genuine boost to the competitiveness of our companies.